From Air and Water Changing into Gasoline

A British firm called Air Fuel Synthesis (AFS) to develop a technology that can convert air into gasoline. This was achieved by taking carbon dioxide (CO2) from the thin air and hydrogen from water, then combine the two elements into gasoline since August, 2012.

AFS is to enable small-scale refinery produces about five liters of gasoline from CO2 and water vapor. Until now, the company located dt Stockton-on-Tees, England, it still relies on the national power grid as an energy source. They plan to open a larger-scale refineries that already use a commercial power plant and capable of producing one ton of gasoline per day.

"At the end of 2014, we can use the energy to produce gasoline that can be recycled in the commercial base as long as necessary to get the funds," said Peter Harrison, CEO of AFS. As quoted in The Independent, Peter also explained that the gasoline produced can be directly used in vehicles without adding an additive or device adapter. Despite having the same shape and odor with regular gasoline, gasoline Peter stressed AFS development is much clearer and cleaner than fossil fuels.

The entire chemical process to create this synthetic hydrocarbon liquid took three months, and is part of a $1.6 million dollar project to create a sustainable and environmentally friendly fuel. And because renewable energy was used to power the process, the scientists say it may be possible to create carbon-neutral fuel en masse that can be used like regular gasoline.

Liquid fuel from water and thin air developed by Air Fuel Synthesis (AFS). (Picture from: http://inhabitat.com/)

Tim Fox, head of energy and the environment for the Institution of Mechanical Engineers (IMechE) in London, told The Independent: "It sounds too good to be true, but it is true. They are doing it and I’ve been up there myself and seen it. The innovation is that they have made it happen as a process. It’s a small pilot plant capturing air and extracting CO2 from it based on well-known principles. It uses well-known and well-established components, but what is exciting is that they have put the whole thing together and shown that it can work."

Graphic of liquid fuel from water and thin air process. (Picture from: http://www.mirror.co.uk/)

The original plan was to produce a liquid AFS to enhance vehicle performance racing. The technology is also ideal for remote region that has many sources of energy that can be recycled, such as solar energy, windmills, or energy waves, but had no way to save it. *** [THE INDEPENDENT | INHABITAT | PIKIRAN RAKYAT 22112012]

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